brush up on — improve knowledge or skill
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To quickly review or practice something you already learned, so you remember it better or become more skilled.
Say it like a native
Textbook I ought to refresh and revise my previously acquired French.
Native I need to brush up on my French.
'Refresh and revise previously acquired' is clunky; 'brush up on' is the natural idiom.
Pattern: brush up on [something]
In use
- I need to brush up on my Spanish before my trip to Mexico.study
- If I had more time, I would brush up on my presentation skills to feel more confident during public speaking.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I need to brush up my Spanish.
✓ I need to brush up on my Spanish.
'Brush up ON something'.
Common collocations
brush up on— on, my French, the basics, your grammar
Don't confuse it
Different from 'pick up', which means to learn something for the first time.